1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for editing multimedia content, and more particularly, to systems and methods for editing multimedia content, including on demand, web-services based editing of multimedia content over a distributed system connected by a network providing media as a service (MaaS).
2. Description of the Relevant Art
It is generally known in the art to provide video editing systems and methods having a server computer and remote user terminals wherein content stored on the server computer is edited via the remote user terminals, based on inputs from users active thereon. It is also generally known in the art to manage, edit, and create digital content such as text, email, music, video, digital images, and combinations thereof from remote terminals through a network, such as the Internet, to a server computer. While the speed and bandwidth of data communication over the Internet has increased over time, large content items, such as streaming video, animation, and full-length movies require higher download and upload times than other digital content. It is also known to provide video editing systems that provide for multiple remote users to access the same content from a server computer and content database via a network, such as the Internet; version management systems and methods are also known.
By way of example of relevant art documents:
US Patent Application Publication No. 20100014826 for Video editing system, video editing server, and communication terminal published on Jan. 21, 2010; describes a video editing platform and server that allows multiple terminals to connect to the server to edit the same file at the same time, including editing on the server without loading the terminals, wherein the terminals transmit commands from a predetermined set to the server, which are then processed by the server to effect editing of a video file.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20090150947 for Online search, storage, manipulation and delivery of video content published on Jun. 11, 2009; describes a system that includes a central hub for management of user's video content, allowing users to add, delete, view, categorize, search, send, receive, edit, and comment on stored video content.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20020116716 for Online video editor published on Aug. 22, 2002; discloses methods running on a server operating on a network having a client/server architecture to allow a client control over a video editor program running on the server, including a video editing program running on a server, allowing users to choose media available on the server or upload media to the server and allowing users to control the video editor program to create a video file using a real time control panel view (from a remote terminal user interface).
More particularly, relevant art relating to workflow editors within online content editing systems and methods may include:
US Pub. No. 20050015293 for Collaboration enhanced workflow system; Describes a system with a workflow system to provide a structure for a plurality of workflows and information regarding those who are to perform a given workflow; an interface unit to provide an interface for the workflow system and a collaboration system. It further describes that users of the system are notified that a work item is waiting for him or her to act upon, wherein notifications are sent by email, instant message or WAP push, and may further include a hyperlink to the awaiting work item.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,240,324 & US Pub. No. 20020170035—Event-based scheduling method and system for workflow activities, which describes a workflow management system that allows activities to be scheduled based not only on completion of previous activities in the same workflow, but on the occurrence of events, and points are defined in the workflow where execution should pause to wait for notification of an event.
US Pub. No. 20050055664 for Notification spheres in workflow management systems, which describes a method for handling notifications within a workflow management system, including a notification sphere, which comprises a multitude of activities representing a subset of activities of the overall process model that are associated with a predefined notification-condition. The predefined notification-condition specifies a trigger for notification.
US Pub. No. 20030236677 for Investigating business processes, which describes a method and system for investigating a business process, including monitoring an execution of a business process instance, and detecting occurrences of a user-definable alert condition, after which, a notification is generated and sent to a user.
US Pub. No. 20050154741 for Methods and computer systems for workflow management, which describes a workflow management system with a notification component for notifying a client device if requested by notification rules, where notification may be suppressed under specific conditions; notification may be sent using an SMS message or a WML page. It further describes that notification rules may depend upon workflow parameters and may be configured and customized by a user.